“Love Is Blind” contestant Tran Dang is suing manufacturing firms Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her former fiancé Thomas Smith through the filming of Season 5, which is the newest season of the Netflix sequence. The pair obtained engaged through the season, however haven’t been featured within the episodes. Dang additionally alleges false imprisonment and negligence.
Kinetic Content and Delirium TV denied the claims in a joint assertion to Variety, after People broke the information of the lawsuit.
“We assist and stand with victims of sexual assault, however Ms. Dang’s claims towards the producers are meritless. We doc the unbiased decisions of adults who volunteer to take part in a social experiment. Their journey shouldn’t be scripted, neither is it filmed across the clock. We haven’t any data or management over what happens in non-public residing areas when not filming, and individuals might select to finish their journey at any time,” the businesses mentioned. “We take any and all issues of our individuals severely and prioritize their well-being. Obviously, we can not tackle undisclosed issues, and all through the time that Ms. Dang was concerned within the manufacturing of Love is Blind, she by no means knowledgeable the producers of any alleged wrongdoing of any sort. Nor did she select to finish her participation within the experiment. Instead, Ms. Dang continued within the experiment for weeks after the time her legal professionals now declare an incident occurred. We deny and can vigorously defend the allegations towards us.”
Creator and CEO of Kinetic Content Chris Coelen additionally denied the allegations, insisting that manufacturing was by no means knowledgeable she felt unsafe. “If anyone ever got here to us and mentioned they felt unsafe in any manner, we might instantly take away them from the experiment and speak to them, and attempt to resolve it,” he mentioned. “Unfortunately, on this case, that sort of sentiment was by no means addressed to us in any manner, nor was any alleged wrongdoing delivered to our consideration ever.”
In her lawsuit, Dang alleges she was sexually assaulted by Smith on May 3, 2022, through the Mexico getaway trip journey. When contacted by Variety, Smith’s legal professional, Kip Patterson, mentioned his shopper denies that allegations, including, “We don’t touch upon ongoing litigation.”
Dang alleges that “Smith, and with out Ms. Dang’s consent, forcefully groped her, uncovered himself within the nude, and repeatedly made sexual contact over her specific objections.” The lawsuit alleges, “Because of [Kinetic Content and Delirium TV’s] 24-hour surveillance of forged members, most, if not all, of those traumatic acts had been possible captured on movie.”
Coelen denied this declare to People, and beforehand instructed Variety in response to previous allegations made by contestants that they don’t seem to be filming 24 hours a day. “They reside their lives. They have loads of moments the place they don’t seem to be being documented,” he mentioned. “We don’t mount cameras within the bedrooms or bogs. We don’t have any of these. They know once we’re round. As a real believer in these actual relationships, I would like them to know what it’s prefer to be with their associate.”
Coelen has additionally instructed Variety that each season, there are a number of {couples} who get engaged who aren’t adopted. “Each season, there are are a lot of tales that we don’t inform, no matter whether or not {couples} get engaged or not,” he mentioned. “Some of them even, we’ll comply with for a bit of bit and never present their story on the present. It’s a bit of little bit of a judgement name.”
In the lawsuit, Dang additionally alleges that she was harassed by Smith throughout a May 14, 2022 cellphone name, and that he then referred to as producers to complain that she reported him. Dang claims that she tried to inform producers a number of instances, and determined to stop however was compelled to movie a last scene.
Coelen denies the claims, echoing what he’s beforehand instructed Variety — that anybody who desires to depart the present is free to take action, simply as a number of forged members have achieved previously.
Dang alleges that she was “prohibited from leaving her resort room with out specific permission,” one thing that Coelen has mentioned previously is to “shield the integrity of the experiment.” During Variety’s Sept. 27 interview with Coelen, he responded to an analogous allegation made by Nick Thompson, saying that the principles are in place to keep away from forged members seeing different earlier than they’re imagined to, and that there are workers obtainable if the forged wants something at any time.
Variety reached out to each Dang and Smith’s legal professional, who didn’t instantly reply.
